Riverkeeper Launches Enforcement Campaign against Polluters on the Gowanus Canal
September 16, 2009
Riverkeeper Team
For Immediate Release: September 16, 2009
Contact: Ramona Cearley
914-478-4501 x 235
Water Pollution Campaign Combines Citizen Lawsuits and Coordination with Local Law Enforcement
(Tarrytown, NY) Today, Riverkeeper announced the beginning of an enforcement campaign targeted at environmental law breakers on the highly polluted Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, New York. In the first wave of enforcement actions targeted at Canal polluters, Riverkeeper filed Notices of Intent to Sue against:
- 6th Street Iron and Metal, a scrap yard, for dumping metal, and debris into the Canal.
- Ferrara Brothers Building Materials Corp, a cement plant discharging liquid cement and stone into the Canal.
- 107 Sixth Street LLC and 36-2nd-J Corp., for operating an open dump and filling the Canal from a parking lot on their property.
- Riverkeeper also issued a warning letter to the NYC Department of Transportation after documenting a turbid plume of water coming from a stone barge at the DOT Asphalt Plant on Gowanus Bay.
Riverkeeper also issued a warning letter to the NYC Department of Transportation after documenting a turbid plume of water coming from a stone barge at the DOT Asphalt Plant on Gowanus Bay. These enforcement actions allege violations of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
“The actions taken today represent a new chapter in Riverkeeper’s historic battle to bring polluters to justice and clean up the Hudson River and New York Harbor for current and future generations. For too long, the Gowanus has been abused as an open sewer and dumping ground for polluters, resulting in a blight on local communities and a water pollution nightmare,” said Phillip Musegaas, Hudson River Program Director at Riverkeeper.
Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal has suffered from over 150 years of virtually unregulated industrial use, and as a result is one of the most heavily contaminated waterbodies in the nation. For decades the canal served as a dumping site for industrial waste, raw sewage, and other pollution. The Canal is currently being considered by the Environmental Protection Agency for designation as a federal Superfund site, a proposal which Riverkeeper strongly supports.
In addition to the actions announced today, Riverkeeper’s efforts on the Gowanus Canal include regular boat patrols, water quality testing of the Canal, and a partnership with the Kings County District Attorney, the New York City Department of Small Business Services Dockmaster Unit, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) aimed at coordinating surveillance and enforcement efforts on the Gowanus Canal, Newtown Creek, and other New York City waterways.
“The Gowanus Canal apparently exists in an alternate universe where the progress we have made in halting pollution since the passage of the Clean Water Act never happened,” said Joshua Verleun, Riverkeeper staff Attorney and Investigator. “Our efforts today are the first step on a long journey to return the Gowanus to a naturally functioning waterbody that can be a benefit rather than a burden to Brooklynites living near its banks.” said Verleun.
The Notices of Intent to Sue (NOIS), which Riverkeeper served on September 15, are the first step in initiating a citizen suit under the CWA and RCRA. During the required 60-day waiting period, New York State is given the opportunity to step in and file their own enforcement case and the polluter is given an opportunity to halt all violations. Following the waiting period Riverkeeper will file a case in federal court if violations persist and the state has not initiated its own enforcement actions.
- Background:Riverkeeper is an independent environmental watchdog organization dedicated to protecting the Hudson River, its tributaries, and the watersheds that comprise the New York City drinking water supply. Since 1965, we have brought thousands of environmental lawbreakers to justice, forcing more than $1 billion in fines and remediation projects.
- Related DocumentsFerrara Brothers NOISFerrara Brothers Exhibit A6th Street Iron and Metal NOIS6th Street Iron and Metal NOIS Exhibit A6th Street and J Corp NOIS6th Street and J Corp Exhibit A
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